Dealing with PTSD Nightmares: Tips and Tricks

My PTSD induced crazy insomnia. Even with Zolpidem I sometimes struggle. I found that calm music while I fall asleep helps (personally love animal crossing instrumentals) at least helps keep them to a minimum. On the off chance that they do happen, a good snuggle with a stuffed animal or special blanket really help me. Giving myself time to calm down and ground

I haven't found a way

I take Paroxetine and it’s helped so much with preventing my nightmares. I still have them but it’s maybe only once a week now. I’m on 10mg in the morning.

I have chronic insomnia. I think it's because I'm afraid to sleep because of nightmares. I don't know how to control them.

I cannot remember what this technique is called but its been useful for PTSD. Basically, the content of the nightmare is not given too much attention. When you wake up you journal the last thing that happened (this shitty person threw something in my dream to scare me) and dont go into further detail. Then you write what happens next. I use the fantastical method (I then sneeze and the person turns to purple glitter and I fly off into the sunset on a fat balding chicken). This method had something to do with disconnecting the involuntary emotions nightmares bring while taking control over something. I did this for a while but stopped so I never got to see how effective it is for cPTSD. Felt like a good coping mechanism though.

I’ve suffered with graphic nightmares for more than half of my life due to my PTSD. I try to keep a lot of comforting items near me, like blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and even my phone so I can distract myself. I’ve also gotten into the habit of writing down my nightmares, just so I can kind of get it written down so i feel like I can move on. The main thing to remember is to be gentle with yourself on those days, especially if they’re so bad that they have you thinking about them all day.

i try to surround myself with comforting things (lots of blankets and pillows) and try to go to sleep thinking about things i like, if i have a nightmare i try to think about things i like and if that doesn’t help i talk to a friend about it who knows what happened.